


Still Here

by SenorTrasharino



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Chara (Undertale) Has Their Own Body, Established Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Everyone swears really, Frisk (Undertale) Uses Sign Language, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Multi, Nonbinary Chara & Frisk (Undertale), Nonbinary Chara (Undertale), Nonbinary Frisk (Undertale), Other, POV Papyrus (Undertale), POV Sans (Undertale), Papyrus (Undertale) Remembers Resets, Parent Toriel (Undertale), Parent W. D. Gaster, Past Character Death, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, References to Undertale Genocide Route, SAVED Asriel Dreemurr, Sans (Undertale) Doesn't Remember Resets, Selectively Mute Frisk (Undertale), Spoilers - Undertale Genocide Route, Undyne (Undertale) Swears, Worried Sans (Undertale), other timelines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 20:01:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21564394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SenorTrasharino/pseuds/SenorTrasharino
Summary: Papyrus has been acting different, and Sans decides to talk to him about it.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This story entails a LOT of a paranoid, snappy Papyrus, and a worried but equally snappy Sans. Neither are perfect, but they're both trying to adjust to life on the surface, and it's a bit hard when Papyrus suddenly starts behaving oddly. He avoids his friends, especially Frisk, misses work (which he loved up until now), and much more to come. This is not going to be a very happy fic at first, but I promise there's a happy ending and some sweet moments sprinkled in-between for my own sanity.
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Asgore Dreemurr/Sans/Toriel, Asgore Dreemurr/Toriel, Frisk & Papyrus (Undertale), Mettaton/Papyrus (Undertale), Papyrus & Sans (Undertale), Sans/Toriel (Undertale), W. D. Gaster & Papyrus & Sans
Comments: 11
Kudos: 60





	1. The First Attmpt

[Papyrus has been acting weird.  
  
And not even the normal Papyrus weird, he's not even _acting_ like his usual self.   
  
He's been sleeping less, for starters. Well, even less than usual. He's been avoiding Frisk, much to their dismay. He's been very jumpy, spacing out, and probably more that I don't even know about.  
  
I hate seeing my brother like this. It's..distressing, really.   
  
So, that's why I'm hiding behind my bedroom door, trying to think of what to say to him. I heard him walk out of his room a while ago, so he must be downstairs...  
  
Ah, fuck it. I'm just gonna walk out and talk to him.]  
  


He walks out, only to nearly walk _into_ Papyrus. They both jump backwards, yelping. Papyrus crashes into the railing, while Sans just falls backward.   
  
"fuckin'..fuckin' hell papyrus, what're ya doin' outside my door??"  
  
"UHM....I HEARD A WEIRD NOISE??"  
  
"...it..was..relatively quiet??"

Papyrus opens his mouth to argue, but after a moment of thinking, he just closes his mouth, clenching his jaw.  
  
"WHY ARE YOU EVEN UP?"  
  
Sans sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
  
"because...i wanted to talk to you, papyrus."  
  
"...ABOUT WHAT..?"  
  
"don't play dumb papyrus, everyone has noticed you've been acting..off."  
  
"I..I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. GOODNIGHT BROTHER." He quickly walks back into his room, closing the door behind him.   
  
Sans groans out of frustration, getting off of the floor and dusting himself off.  
  
"that sure went well." He says bitterly, closing his door aswell. He walks over to his bed- Well, it's more of a mattress. He flops onto it, deciding that he'll have to try again later.


	2. The Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dinner celebration should be a fun night for all, right? Well, maybe not for Papyrus.

[Well, it’s been a couple of days since the first try at talking to Papyrus about what’s bugging him, and he hasn’t really changed, in fact he’s gotten worse. Two days ago I found him staring at a boiling pot of water that was starting to bubble over, and he didn’t even notice until I walked in and yelled to get his attention. He’s also really strict about knives all of a sudden, putting them in a cupboard once he’s done using them and snapping at me when I go to grab them.]

[It’s been real stressful ever since we got to the surface, what with moving and finding new jobs and all. But this is just ridiculous, something is going on with my brother and he won’t even tell me what. ...Thank god for Tori and Gore’s dinner. It’ll at least be a nice change of pace, even if it’s just for one night.]

Sans straightens his tie, already starting to regret wearing the tedious outfit, but he figures he has to look somewhat presentable for the dinner. It’s nothing to write home about, just a dress shirt, some slacks, and a tie. That’s about as fancy as Sans will ever get. He looks up at Papyrus’s room, furrowing his non-existent eyebrows as he wonders why Papyrus hasn’t come out yet. Usually he’s the first one in the living room, fidgeting with the car keys and chastising Sans for taking too long. He decides to call out to his brother, maybe he’s having a hard time with his tie.

“hey, papyrus? the dinner’s in 30 minutes, you almost ready?”

Papyrus peaks out of his room, still in his casual wear.

“WHAT?”  
  
“the...the dinner? at tori’s? one month being free?”

Papyrus looks incredulously at Sans, before his eyes go cartoonishly wide.  
  
“OH- _FUCK!_ I COMPLETELY FORGOT, I- I’LL BE RIGHT OUT!” 

He closes his door so fast it slams, and Sans can hear the rustling of Papyrus getting dressed from the living room. He stares at the door in disbelief. Papyrus forgot an important event? That’s usually Sans’s thing. Sans can’t seem to remember the last time Papyrus forgot something important, but he chalks it up to whatever thing is currently stressing Papyrus out. After a few long minutes, Papyrus walks out in a similar outfit to Sans’s, except his tie is undone. He quickly walks downstairs and grabs his keys, already opening the door.  
  


“HURRY, IT’S A 20 MINUTE DRIVE TO MISS TORIEL’S HOUSE!”  
  
“pap, your tie isn’t even-”  
  
“I’LL DO IT IN THE CAR, COME ON!”  
  
Sans stands in the living room, stunned for a few moments, before he hops in the car with Papyrus.

As they drive over to Toriel’s house, Sans is staring out of the window, deep in thought. Neither brother speaks for a few long minutes, before Papyrus speaks up, snapping Sans out of his own thoughts.

“I...I’M SORRY FOR EARLIER. I’M JUST...NERVOUS.”

It takes Sans a moment to process the sentence.  
  


“huh? oh- uh...why?”

Papyrus grips the wheel tightly, and Sans is sure that if he had skin his knuckles would be white.

“I...DON’T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT. ...CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS WHEN WE GET HOME?”

Sans stays silent for a moment, debating whether he should press further. He pushes that thought away, deciding that Papyrus deserves time to get his thoughts together. It’s the least Sans can do for him.

“...sure, bud.”

Papyrus lets out a sigh of relief.

“THANK YOU SANS.”

Papyrus’s grip loosens, but his posture still shows his stress as clear as day. Just his very presence is giving off nervous energy.

“hey, bro?”  
  
“YES, SANS?”

“if you need a break, or..get overwhelmed, just tell me. we can go outside for some fresh air..or just to talk, if you need it. ..i’m here for you, bro.”

Papyrus’s expression softens, gratitude stated clearly on his face. He seems to be able to relax a bit more, which comforts Sans.

“..THANK YOU, BROTHER.”

Sans nods, turning his attention back to the passing building and cars outside of the safe space they made for each other in Papyrus’s car.

Not long after, they arrive at Toriel’s. Papyrus tried to apologize for their lateness, but it wasn’t needed, because the brothers arrived just in time. As they got seated, they both engaged in conversation with their friends, trying to catch up in the few weeks they were apart. Alphys and Undyne moved in together, buying a house that was surprisingly not far from Sans and Papyrus’s. Toriel and Asgore also moved in together, having mostly reconciled in the few weeks they spent caring for and bonding with the kids. They definitely still have some work to do, but they both seem happy. Something about that fact makes Sans’s metaphorical stomach flip. He blames it on his own hunger. Speaking of the kids, they seem to be adjusting to surface life quite well. They’re set up to start school as soon as possible, much to their dismay. They’re very happy about their parents being ‘together’ again. Papyrus becomes a bit more on-edge after that comment. Sans can’t figure out why. He asks Papyrus if he needs some fresh air, but he declines. Other than that little bump, the dinner goes smoothly. Even Mettaton shows up, fashionably late as always. Papyrus definitely perks up after that, as he and Mettaton catch up on the robot’s “fabulous expeditions”. 

Then Toriel announces that she made a pie especially for the occasion, her specialty, butterscotch and cinnamon pie. The children silently argue, before Frisk asks if they can cut the pie. Toriel relents, telling them to be careful with the knife. They grab the knife, leaning over to cut it...then, everything goes wrong.  
  
There’s a yell, and a blue bone glides through Frisk, not harming them, but definitely scaring them and everyone else at the table. Thankfully, it’s gone as quick as it came. Everyone turns to look at the culprit, which is Papyrus, leaned all the way back in his seat, his breathing labored and his shaking hand still raised with the motion of the bone. He looks wide-eyed at everyone at the table. There’s no movement, no noise except for Papyrus’s breathing, before he stands up, backing towards the nearest window. 

“I...ER..APOLOGIZE, I MUST BE GOING NOW! GOODBYE!” He quickly jumps out of the window, which was luckily already open. Everyone sits in stunned silence at what just happened, before Undyne stands up, following Papyrus out the window.

“Papyrus, wait a second! What’s up with you?”  
  
There’s the sounds of a car starting and driving away, while the ex-guard captain yells for Papyrus to come back. Sans takes a moment to process before realizing exactly what just happened. Papyrus tried to attack the kid. He then abruptly left, leaving Sans and everyone else without answers. On top of all that, he was Sans’s only ride home. That last fact was a bit of a nitpick, but all of it piled together left Sans feeling betrayed. He was fine, he was going to talk to Sans, they were going to work it out. ..What went wrong? Just as he was about to be lost in his thoughts again, Undyne opens the front door, looking pissed. 

“SANS! GET YOUR ASS IN MY CAR, WE’RE GETTING YOUR BROTHER’S BONY BUTT BACK OVER HERE, PRONTO!” She yells, stomping back outside once again.

“uh- we’ll be back.” Sans says quickly as he gets up from his seat, jogging outside to join Undyne. She’s already in her car, starting the engine. Sans hops into the passenger seat, as she pulls out of the quaint driveway of Toriel’s house and into the quickly darkening city streets after Papyrus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in like..literally 7 months. Executive dysfunction and writer's block is a pain in the ass. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! (I promise I'll be more active sjvfmgsf)


	3. Answers, Finally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne and Sans catch up with Papyrus, and manage to get some answers.

As Undyne and Sans drive to the Brothers’ house, Sans couldn’t help but realise how different the two car rides are, but his thoughts are quickly interrupted by Undyne.  
  


“Sans, you need to tell me what’s wrong with Papyrus _right now_ , because I’m _this_ close to _beating_ the information out of you.” Undyne’s tone is low and dangerous, far from her usual loud and brash way of speaking. “First he misses my calls, then he starts avoiding his friends, _then_ he starts missing work,-” 

Sans quickly interrupts her.  
  
“woah woah woah, he’s doing _what?_ ”  
  
Undyne starts at him, before turning back to the road.

“..You didn’t know?”

“no! he told me that he couldn’t get any hours or something!”

“WHAT?! He had plenty of hours! Why the hell would he just...lie?”  
  
Sans shifts in the car seat uncomfortably, the thought making his bones rattle.  
  
“papyrus doesn’t...he wouldn’t….would he?”

The silence that stretches between them is deafening. The question hangs in the air, like an unwelcome house guest in their minds. Thankfully, Undyne manages to cut through the tension.

“..Sans. I _need_ to know what’s wrong with Papyrus. Please.”

Sans lets out a dry chuckle, though he can’t find anything funny.

“if i knew, i would tell you, believe me.”

The fish lady groans in frustration, clenching the wheel, not unlike Papyrus did earlier. 

“ _Sans._ ” She said, through clenched teeth, frustration clearly showing in just the one word. It made Sans nervous. “ _He tried to kill Frisk._ ”

“wha- no, no he didn’t try to _kill frisk,_ are you kidding me? the bone was _blue._ he just wanted them to stay still, or- or just stop. not- not kill. papyrus is- he wasn’t trying to do that.”

“Then _why_ would he just- attack them? It doesn’t make sense, Sans. You gotta know _something._ ”

“i really don’t, okay? i don’t know why he freaked out like that.”

“How can you _not_ know?! You live with him for god’s sake!”

“ _BECAUSE HE WON’T TALK TO ME!_ ” All of sans’s emotions bubbled over, like a boiling pot of water. He takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Undyne was surprised by the outburst, not used to the shorter of the two brothers raising his voice. “...we were supposed to talk after the dinner, but..well, you know what happened.”

Undyne opens her mouth to argue, but is interrupted by the view of the house as she pulls up to it. Both her and Sans get out of the car.

Needless to say, the sight is already unsettling, the car messily parked into the driveway still running, and if Sans squints, he can see the keys still in the ignition. The front door is wide open, and he can already hear the sound of sobbing carrying to the driveway. Sans and Undyne look at each other, worry etched into their faces. They push on, walking into the house.

Papyrus is collapsed on the living room floor, the skeleton hysterically sobbing and clutching his head. The sight shakes Sans to his core. He slowly walks towards Papyrus, kneeling beside him and putting a hand on his arm.

“pap...? ..papyrus? bro, can you hear me?”

Sans gets no response, other than the skeleton curling into a ball and sobbing harder. He gently rubs Papyrus’s arm, trying to comfort him like he’s comforted Sans many times before. The motion seems to calm him, as he slowly stops shaking, and the sobs turn into quiet whimpers. Undyne is lingering by the doorway, looking unsure. Sans understands, Undyne had never really been good at comforting people. Her loud and booming voice tended to cause more harm than good, at least on that end. After a few moments, Papyrus sits up and tightly hugs Sans, knocking all of the air out of the shorter skeleton. After another few moments, he wraps his arm around Papyrus, rubbing his back as he cries into Sans’s shoulder. Undyne slowly approaches the brothers, kneeling beside the two and putting a comforting hand on Papyrus’s shoulder. He lets out a shaky sigh, sniffling and hiccuping from the intense crying.

“I’m...So Sorry…” Another surprise, the usually loud and excitable Papyrus being quiet and melancholy. Sans just hugs his brother tighter. “i..it’s okay, pap. we just need to know what happened. why did you freak out?” Papyrus puts his chin on Sans’s shoulder, staring at the floor as he gets his thoughts together.

“It’s...Complicated. Hard To Describe. They Were...Memories..But..Not..” He clutches his head once more. “Do We Have Headache Medicine?”

Sans nods, as he untangles himself from the hug to walk into the kitchen. It takes him a bit, but he manages to locate the medicine. He grabs Papyrus a glass of water so he can take the medicine, and as he walks back out to the living room, Papyrus and Undyne are already seated on the couch, an exhausted Papyrus leaning against Undyne. He hands Papyrus the glass of water and the medicine. He thanks Sans, taking the medicine. After a few moments, he sits up straight, his posture still a bit slumped.

“...SANS, DO YOU EVER GET NIGHTMARES? ABOUT- ABOUT...PEOPLE DYING?”

Sans tries to think back, the concept seems familiar, but he can’t pinpoint something that isn’t fuzzy or vague. “..kind of? can you be more specific?” 

Papyrus looks at the ground, as if he was nervous to explain. 

“WELL...IT’S OF...F..FRISK...KILLING..EVERYONE...EVEN ME..BUT SOMETIMES IT’S DIFFERENT. SOMETIMES ONLY I’M KILLED, SOMETIMES IT’S JUST ONE OR TWO PEOPLE, BUT…. IT’S SCARY, TERRIFYING EVEN… SOMETIMES THEY FEEL SO...REAL, LIKE MEMORIES.” He puts his head in his hands. “I’M SORRY I REACTED THE WAY I DID, BUT I’VE BEEN HAVING THEM EVERY NIGHT, AND- AND IT’S HARD FOR ME TO SLEEP. HARDER THAN USUAL.”

Sans and Undyne listen to Papyrus, each putting a hand on his back. 

“...I DIDN’T MEAN TO SCARE THE HUMAN. I JUST- I COULDN’T HELP BUT R-REMEMBER..” His breath hitches, as tears start gathering in his eye sockets. “...IT MAKES MY HEAD HURT, THINKING ABOUT THEM. THE NIGHTMARES.”

“...bro, why didn’t you tell us? you know we’re here for you.”

“I DIDN’T KNOW HOW...I FELT SO- SO _STUPID_. IT WAS JUST NIGHTMARES, NOTHING THAT SHOULD HAVE WARRANTED THAT BEHAVIOR.” 

“You’re not dumb, Papyrus!” Undyne finally speaks up, her eyebrows furrowed. “You’re like, one of the smartest people I know! Also, remember the echo flower incident?”

The skeleton shivers for a moment, as if the mere memory was incredibly unpleasant. “UGH, I WISH I DIDN’T. I HATE THOSE THINGS.” 

“Well, remember when I tried to destroy a whole field of them as a kid, because I had a nightmare that they were like, going to eat me or something?”

Sans nods. “gerson had to drag you all the way home.”

“Yeah, well, the point is that nightmares make you do some crazy things sometimes.”

Papyrus sighs, hands dragging down his face. “I STILL FEEL BAD.”

Undyne pats Papyrus on the back. “That’s why we’re gonna head back to Toriel’s, and you can apologize, if you want.”

“...WILL THEY EVEN LET ME BACK IN?”

“papyrus, bro, of course they are. you’re their friend.”

Papyrus fidgets with his tie, undoing the tie he made so meticulously earlier. 

“...ALRIGHT.”

“alright?”

“I’LL...GO BACK.”

Undyne nods, giving Papyrus another pat on the back, before standing.

“Well, c'mon! We got a bit of a drive ahead of us.”

The brothers stand, and the three make their way out of the house. Papyrus turns his car off, muttering under his breath about “wasting gas”. They decide to go in Undyne’s car, since Papyrus wasn’t exactly in the proper mood to drive. So, he hops into the back while Sans rides shotgun once again, and they drive off.


End file.
